The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-09-17
NEW yoaks Looo,No HOUSES.


People who Patroniss Thorn and Get
Accommodations ~ Trifiins Expense.
Not long ago reporter, curious to test
the truth Of the old adage that ''one-half
the world knows not how the other half
lives, F" made tour Of the cheap lodging
houses, which almost completely line
Chatham street from the Brooklyn bridge
to East Houston street. Az . rule the
cheapest class Of these lodging houses are
patronised BY tramps who, during the
day, have begged . nickel o. dime Of
some benevolently Inclined person, and
BY inveterate drunkards who, having no
homo to 60 to. have pledged whatever
article the pawnbrokeEs would accept.
In this class Of lodging house the usual
charge y five cents. Having paid tho
man in charge Of the packing case like
Office one Il entitled TO s''bed." This
"bed" y the bare floor Of an outrage
ously ventilated room, usually about
twenty feet square, and no covering u
provided. In this room are nightly hud-
died together anywhere from twenty .five
10 fifty men. The Close atmosphere Of
the room, together with the breath Of The
sleepers, renders the cir ackcning In The
extreme. No attempt h made sf clsanli.
ness, and further, . man suffering with
any contagious disease = - readily -.
ceived - one In perfect health. Only .
few months ago . man suffering with
smallpox was spotted In one Of these
holes By the police, and after much delay
removed to hospital. The entrance 70
the lodging house d invariably through .
narrow doorway Of the street., and up .
staircase, lighted only BY small IL
lamp. Everywhere about the place ver.
min can be found. Rats and mice fairly
overrun the place. It = the custom 70
turn out al dodgers at 9 q. m. for the
avowed purpose Of ventilsting the place,
but ventilatioo h impossible unless the
vile building be torn down.
The ten and fifteen cent houses a1e .
little better than the "five centsrs," but
not much. For ten cents one can sst
. cot bed in small room with several
others. Sometimes mattress and sheet
are provided the lodger, but oftener be
gets no covering whatever. For fifteen
cents the lodger gets "privats room,"
which iS one Of many. Il u made bj.
dividing good sized room, by means q
wooden partitions, into . number Of
smaller rooms. In some ot them ono
6nds chair as well - the cot. A weak
effort at cleanliness is made here. In
fairly large room near by soap, water
and towels are furnished, and all are ex-
pected to avail themselves Of their use.
In this class Of lodging houses the patrons
In HnAH Mt
cleaning up takes place and everything d
put In readiness Tor the next nights
dodgers. The next priced houses cost
dodgers twenty-five or thirty.five cents q
night, according to the accommodation.
These houses are all that q reasonable
person In reduced circumstances can ex.
pect.
For twenty-five cents one Is frequently
given single room, but at some places
the lcdger is quartered with two or three
other men, but In a separate bed. At
tached to some Of this class of houses are
sittdng rooms, where far in the early
morning hours groups Of men sit about
talking or reading. Some houses fur
nish their patrons with bath. The best
class OF cheap lodging houses charge fifty
cents per night. These are patronized
chiefly by poor mechanics and laboring
men. Everything is done to make their
patrons comfortable. The daily papers
are kept on file, and games Of chess and
checkers are permitted in the reading
room. The entrances are large and wide,
lighted by gas, and kept a. clean as pos
dble. Notwithstanding that every effort
3 made to keep these places well ven-
hlated, in the summer the heat Is intoler.
lhe.-New York World.